New Long Beach Terminal

I had the pleasure of travelling through the brand-new terminal at LGB this weekend. I posted about it here, but here's my review below!

I had the great pleasure of flying through Long Beach’s brand-new terminal this weekend on the way back home to Austin. See a post tomorrow for a review of the flights.Now that I’m not living in Orange County, I don’t use Long Beach airport anymore. LAX is just too darned close to me, and they have direct flights on United when I want to fly home to Austin. Since this was a last minute trip, I wanted to get the best flight for my dollar, and naturally looked at jetBlue. I found out that if I connect in Phoenix with US Airways, I get home a little bit quicker, and get to test out my US Airways Dividend Miles Gold status for the first time!Those of you that have flown out of Long Beach in the past may remember the trailers (honest) that one used to call their terminal. They were perfectly usable, but often cramped with people flying on jetBlue’s many flights out of the airport here. Today, that cramped feeling is gone.

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The AirportA little trivia for you: The Long Beach Airport was used in Casablanca in the famous ending scene. The terminal building was built in 1941, one year after filming, but now you can impress your friends.

The best thing about this airport is its old terminal, complete with air traffic control tower. It’s that classic, West Coast art deco you see in the old Hollywood films. After a recent renovation, the airport uncovered old mosaics on its floor. They now grace the check-in area for the airlines flying out of here (jetBlue, Delta, US Airways, and Alaska).

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Also in the main “old terminal” area is a bar, Legends, on the 2nd floor. It features a nice bar with a good view of departing flights. It even has an outdoor seating area! Be sure to check out the limited exhibits on the airport’s history. It’s a great way to kill time!The New TerminalLong Beach opened its new Terminal in December of 2012. While the expansion is not completely finished, the results are impressive. After exiting the new security area (complete with expedited lanes for elites and first class passengers), you actually find yourself outdoors.

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Gates 1-4 are on your left, and feature a local bakery serving Polly’s coffee (a local brand) and a CNBC News store. This seems to be where US Airways, Delta, and Alaska flights depart from.

Gates 5-9 are on your right. This is where the main food court is, as well as jetBlue’s departing gates. Some local eateries include George’s Greek Café, one of my favorite restaurants in Long Beach, as well as Cantina and Taco Beach. The bar looks to be 4th Street Vine, but it was closed at 9 AM .

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Tons of plugs litter the terminal for charging your electronics, as well as a a lot of seating. I read articles about ordering your food via iPad if you can’t wait for it, but it appears they don’t have this feature running for early flights (as far as I can tell).

All in all, I think this paints a good picture of Long Beach Airport at the present.

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